Fool Me Once

By Jill Limber

Six months after a torrid affair, a pregnant young San Diego artist unknowingly rents the apartment over her garage to the vanished father of her child: a Navy SEAL with a very specific mission.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 7, 2014
• ISBN: 9781941260470

Jill Limber

A multi-published author and former RWA President, as a child some of Jill’s tales got her in trouble, but now she gets paid for them. Residing in San Diego with her husband and a trio of dogs and one very ancient cat, Jill’s favorite pastime is to gather friends and family for good food, conversation and plenty of laughter.

Book preview

FOOL ME ONCE

Jill Limber

Copyright 2014 Jill Limber

Smashwords Edition

FOOL ME ONCE

Six months after a torrid affair, a pregnant young San Diego artist unknowingly rents the apartment over her garage to the vanished father of her child: a Navy SEAL with a very specific mission.

FOOL ME ONCE

Jill Limber

www.BOROUGHSPUBLISHINGGROUP.com

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Boroughs Publishing Group does not have any control over and does not assume responsibility for author or third-party websites, blogs or critiques or their content.

FOOL ME ONCE

Copyright © 2014 Jill Limber

All rights reserved. Unless specifically noted, no part of this publication may be reproduced, scanned, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Boroughs Publishing Group. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or by any other means without the permission of Boroughs Publishing Group is illegal and punishable by law. Participation in the piracy of copyrighted materials violates the author’s rights.

Digital edition created by Maureen Cutajar

www.gopublished.com

ISBN 978-1-941260-47-0

To Carlie, her mom Kim and grandmother Carole. Love makes a family.

CONTENTS

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Author Bio

FOOL ME ONCE

Chapter 1

Annoyed by the interruption, Carlie wiped the colorful smears of paint off her hands as she went to answer the doorbell.

She had found her zone with her current painting and hated being jolted out of it. She stopped to stuff the rag in her pocket and looked out the side window. A tall, broad-shouldered man in fatigues stood on her porch. Must be the new renter. The apartment over her garage had been vacant for the last two weeks. She had been so deep in her work she’d totally forgotten he was moving in today.

She searched her memory as she crossed the living room to the door. Cameron. His first name was Cameron. Facing the self-imposed deadline of her current project, she’d barely looked at the paperwork the agency had sent yesterday. Still, she’d had good luck with naval personnel as tenants in the past. The agency that handled the rentals for her knew she had a preference for military people, and it wasn’t difficult to find them. After all, half of Coronado Island, just across the bay from San Diego, was North Island Naval Air Base.

She opened the door and smiled. Hello.

The tall, broad-shouldered man, his cap pulled low over his brow, hesitated. Carlie?

She recognized his voice and felt her stomach drop. It couldn’t be him. He must just sound like Erik. Erik wasn’t in the military. He was a beach bum. A surfer, a drifter.

He pulled his cap off, and Carlie got a good look at the tan face below the close-cropped military haircut. His eyes. Those eyes that changed colors. Eyes she’d dreamed of at night. Right now they were a grey-green, and his lips quirked up in a small smile.

She tightened her grip on the door handle, not at all sure her wobbly knees would continue to hold her up. "What the hell are you doing here?" Fortunately her voice sounded steadier than she felt.

He raised his hands, palms out. I can explain.

What? How you disappeared without a word and now here you are? I don’t care. Go away.

No.

He took a step forward and she jumped back, let go of the door, slammed it hard enough to rattle